Saturday, October 18, 2008

This is my beautiful niece, Devon. She is turning 5, and we are headed to Atlanta today to celebrate her birthday with a bowling party, and hopefully a few snuggles from the birthday girl. Beckett and Devon are just about 6 months apart in age. And when we get them together, it really takes me back to my childhood weekends, playing for hours with my cousins, loving them like they were my own brothers and sisters. My father was one of 13 children, so I had a gaggle of playmates.

When I was a kid, I always wondered why my aunts and uncles made such a big deal out of us kids. They wanted to play with us, they came to our school plays and sent us Christmas cards. It wasn't until I had nieces and nephews of my own that I understood that kind of love. They're all my kids. I love them so much it hurts. And they're growing up so fast. Days like today are the reason we decided to move back from Honolulu 4 years ago. I don't want to miss a minute of them growing up.

I hope you guys have a great day 79 of Raw Fu. I picked peppers and rosemary from the garden, buttercrisp lettuce and red leaf, too. Making a big juicy sweet and savory salad with pear and rosemary dressing for the road.

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comments:

Actually, I find it rather odd after reading this post spouting the joys of family that you did not ATTEND your 5 year old nephew's swim party the first week of August (right around the corner from your home), or your 8 year old niece's bowling party the last week of August (17 miles from your home!)......does a niece or nephew have to live in a "happening" place like Atlanta to warrant your presence at their BIG DAY? I know a couple of kids who wished you had made the effort to attend their special parties!

I normally enjoy reading your blog, but this entry makes my blood boil -- you sent Beckett to Bella's party, while you and Basil were raw fooding, and she was hurt by the fact that her FAVORITE AUNT didn't come, or even call her.

We had the Raw Fu Atlanta Meetup planned for the last weekend of August for over a month. I didn't know that Bella's party was the same day as the meetup until I got an e-mail about it on Monday before the party on Saturday. It was too late for me to reschedule the meetup since there were people flying in from out of town and staying with us in Atlanta. Sorry I missed the party.

I called mother's cell phone while the party was going on at the bowling alley to check in.

I have missed the last two birthday parties for Devon because I always go to Honolulu for work in October. So, I jumped at the chance to go to this one.

You're not stepping on my toes. I'm only human. I can't be everywhere I want to be all the time. That's just life.

It hurts when people don't live up to our expectations of what *we* think they *should* do. It gets complicated when those involved are family members, as there are usually even more expectations and feelings involved.

I'm sorry your sister used a public forum to release her hurt feelings. As with most things, there was probably more to her hurt feelings than just this particular issue.

I hope the two of you can work through this, without it being overly stressful. *HUGS*

I am so disappointed that this private matter was aired on your blog. I hear fear behind the anger in your sister's words. When we make big changes in our lives, when we begin t make healthier choices, it sometimes raises a sense of abandonment in our loved ones who would subconsciously prefer us to remain unhealthy and dysfunctional like they are. your positive growth and fulfilling life may make your sister feel stuck in a rut right now in her life. A little love and reassurance may smooth her feathers and bring peace to you. We all know that you would never intentionally offend her. Praying for blessings on all.